"Mother, what if..."
He could not finish.
Eleanor reached across the table and took his hand.
This time, she did not pull away.
"We are going to find out."
He began crying.
"I should have been there."
Eleanor looked at him.
"Yes. You should have."
Daniel nodded.
"I know."
"But blaming yourself won't bring your father back. What matters now is that you tell the truth, even if it destroys everything you thought you knew."
He squeezed her hand.
"I will."
Eleanor looked at the family photograph.
For the first time since Richard's death, she felt that she was not simply defending an inheritance.
She was defending the truth about the man she had loved.
And if that truth exposed her own son, she would have to face it.
Because Richard had left her more than money, property, and legal documents.
He had left her a responsibility.
To protect what was right.
Even when doing so broke her heart.
The following morning, Thomas received an urgent call from the investigators.
They had located the independent physician mentioned in the recording.
His name was Dr. Andrew Keller.
He had visited Richard twice during the final month of his life.
Neither visit appeared in the records of Richard's regular medical team.
When investigators contacted him, he initially denied having any involvement.
But after being shown the financial records, he requested legal representation.
Then he agreed to provide a statement.
There was another discovery.
A payment of $75,000 had been transferred to a consulting company associated with the physician shortly before Richard's final hospitalization.
The payment had originated from the same investment group connected to Margaret and Vanessa.
Eleanor read the report in Thomas's office.
Her hands were trembling.
"Was he treating Richard?"
"We don't know yet," Thomas replied.
"Was he responsible for changing his medication?"
"That's one of the questions investigators are examining."
"Could that have caused Richard's condition to deteriorate?"
Thomas took a breath.
"That is something medical experts will have to determine. We cannot draw conclusions from the payment alone."
Eleanor nodded.
She understood.
But understanding did not make the waiting easier.
Daniel sat beside her.
He had barely spoken since arriving.
Then Thomas opened another file.
"There is one more development."
He turned his laptop toward them.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Vanessa entering a private medical office approximately two weeks before Richard's death.
She was carrying the same black handbag she had brought to the anniversary gala.
Daniel stared at the screen.
"Where did you get that?"
"Security footage from the building."
Eleanor leaned forward.
"Who was she meeting?"
Thomas looked at the accompanying report.
"Dr. Keller."
Daniel stood so quickly that his chair fell backward.
"No."
Thomas remained calm.
"Daniel, sit down."
"She told me she had never met him."
Eleanor looked at her son.
"Are you sure?"
Daniel opened his phone and searched through his messages.
He found one conversation.
He read it aloud.
"Vanessa: I have arranged everything with the specialist. Your father will receive the treatment he needs."
He stopped.
Then continued.
"Daniel: Thank you. I don't know what we'd do without you."
He lowered the phone.
Eleanor felt tears fill her eyes.
For months, she had believed Vanessa was simply trying to take the family's money.
Now the possibility that she had interfered with Richard's medical care made everything feel much darker.
Thomas closed the laptop.
"The investigation is moving forward. I strongly advise both of you not to contact Vanessa or Margaret directly."
Daniel nodded.
Then he looked at his mother.
"There's something I need to tell you."
Eleanor waited.
"Vanessa called me last night."
"What did she say?"
"She wants to meet."
"Did you agree?"
"No."
He hesitated.
"But she said she has something that could change everything."
Eleanor frowned.
"What?"
Daniel looked at his phone.
"She said she knows who actually ordered the transfers."
Thomas immediately looked up.
"Did she give you a name?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No. She said she would only tell me in person."
Eleanor looked at Thomas.
"She wants something."
"Probably."
Daniel stared at the message.
Then he whispered:
"She also said Dad wasn't the only person Richard had been protecting."
Eleanor felt a chill run down her spine.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
Thomas leaned forward.
"Did she say anything else?"
Daniel nodded.
"She said if we want to understand why Margaret helped her, we need to find the original family records."
Eleanor looked toward the window.
The original family records.
Richard had mentioned them in the final recording.
Someone who knew where they were kept.
Someone who had access long before Vanessa joined the family.
She suddenly remembered something.
A locked cabinet in the old library.
Richard had kept it behind a large painting of his grandfather.
She had never opened it.
He had once told her it contained documents from the earliest days of the Whitmore family.